Number 8
by boneyard.alien
Summary: I spent my years at the academy in the background. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to to survive. Slight AU/ Rated M for language and adult situations


**Disclaimer:** _I own nothing from the Umbrella Academy universe [hence forth known as UAU] and am not making any monies from the writing of this story. The UAU belongs to its respectful creators and all original characters belong to me._

**Intro**; _Breaking News_

The men cheered as a buxom female took her top off and gyrated at the bar on stage, watching her as she performed gymnastic feats all while baring it all for their entertainment to the heavy dance music that was blaring from the speakers on the wall. For being so early in the evening it was still quite a large crowd as the few tables in the small establishment were being filled almost before the lone bartender could get to them.

The ending of the song was signified by loud whooping of the patrons and the DJ on the speakers announcing that they were done till later that night. The men nearest the stage all downed their drinks and left, leaving nothing but a pile of glasses to show they were there.

"Danny needs to step back from the mike a bit." The lone patron at the bar states as he looks at the woman cleaning the glasses. She smirks and nods. She hadn't even noticed him sit down in all the commotion. "Rye on the rocks please, Olive. And can you turn the television up a bit?"

"Anything for you Frank." The bartender replies, not even asking for identification as he was an older gent, and has been there almost every night since she started 5 years ago. Always ordered the same thing, always sat at the same spot in the bar, always came between the two shifts and always brought his newspaper and watched the news.

The ice made a barely audible clink as she set down his drink as the news lady droned in the background. "You know Frank, I've never asked. Why do you always come here of all places? I mean, most men at this club come for the girls and here you are reading the paper and sitting over by me."

A small, almost sad smile came across Franks face. He sighed, putting down his paper and taking a long, deep sip from his drink. Olive winced as she could almost feel the rye burn down his gullet and turned to grab her grey bucket to clean up the tables. "You see Olive dear, long before this was a strip club it was a diner, oh about 30 years ago now and it had the cutest waitress." He smiled and his eyes glossed over as he remembered back to the good old days. "She used to tend the lunch counter and I'd come in everyday to talk to her. Now I'd been doing this for months, finally learned her name and that she was single." Frank winked, took a drink and continued. "About a week after finding that out I sauntered into the diner, like usual, sat right here, like usual and ordered from the pretty blonde. She smiled at me that day, different than any other smile she'd given me before."

Olive dropped the bucket into the tub and left the glasses to soak. "What do you mean?"

Frank shrugged and finished his rye and left his bill on the counter. Olive slid a glass of water over, just like she'd been doing for 5 years now and waited for the old man to continue. "I'm not sure really. It just felt… different. But that whole day was different."

"Different as in she turned you down?" Olive teased. Frank laughed and shook his head.

"If only. I never got the chance to ask her. She dropped my lunch off and I remember brushing her hand while I reached out to get the plate from her. She had such soft hands. Anyway, that was the last I saw of her. She disappeared just after that."

"What do you mean 'disappeared'?" Olive asked and just as Frank was going to answer the TV caught both of their attention. Breaking News flashed across the screen and a picture of a man wearing a monocle was the last person Olive had ever thought she would see again.

"Dad."

"What was that?" Frank asked. Olive shook her head and before she could say anything the phone rang around back.

"Hey Olive, phone." The cook called.

"Excuse me Frank, but I'm going to need to disappear now." The old man chuckled, not aware that she was indeed disappearing, just not in the same way as the waitress did almost 30 years ago.

**AN:** So, the intro to this weird story that just won't get the fluff out of my head. Let me know if I should continue?


End file.
